Alex Nurzia could have piloted that plane all night long, at New Canaan Public Schools Tech Night, held on April 8, 2014, at New Canaan High School.

Photo: Jeanna Petersen Shepard

Alex Nurzia could have piloted that plane all night long, at New...

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Residents of all ages began to filter in and fill up the computers early during New Canaan Public Schools Tech Night held on April 8, 2014, at New Canaan High School.

Photo: Jeanna Petersen Shepard Petersen, Jeanna Petersen Shepard

Residents of all ages began to filter in and fill up the computers...

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Michael Pickhardt (front) and Mitchell DiPanni get ready for the next curious student at their "Stop Motion Commotion" station during at New Canaan Public Schools Tech Night held on April 8, 2014, at New Canaan High School.

Photo: Jeanna Petersen Shepard

Michael Pickhardt (front) and Mitchell DiPanni get ready for the...

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NCHS Advance Film Dept. students Zachary Loweth (left), Mitchell DiPanni, and Michael Pickhardt, show 7-year-old Shannon Ratner the basics of how to animate a movie, during New Canaan Public Schools Tech Night held on April 8, 2014, at New Canaan High School.

Photo: Jeanna Petersen Shepard

NCHS Advance Film Dept. students Zachary Loweth (left), Mitchell...

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Seven-year-old Shannon Ratner participates in the NCHS Advanced Film Department's station during New Canaan Public Schools Tech Night held on April 8, 2014, at New Canaan High School.

Photo: Jeanna Petersen Shepard

Seven-year-old Shannon Ratner participates in the NCHS Advanced...

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Nine-year-old Victor Ralev takes the controls of the flight simulator during at New Canaan Public Schools Tech Night held on April 8, 2014, at New Canaan High School.

Photo: Jeanna Petersen Shepard

Nine-year-old Victor Ralev takes the controls of the flight...

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Richard Kissh instructs Lila Volpe at the flight simulator "edustation" during the New Canaan Public Schools Tech Night, held on April 8, 2014, at New Canaan High School.

Photo: Jeanna Petersen Shepard

Richard Kissh instructs Lila Volpe at the flight simulator...

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Johnny Renda (left) and Ethan Niang (right) explain to Saxe Middle School teacher, Ms. LB Reddington, and a curious student, their project about "Recycled Sound" during New Canaan Public Schools Tech Night held on April 8, 2014, at New Canaan High School.

Photo: Jeanna Petersen Shepard

Johnny Renda (left) and Ethan Niang (right) explain to Saxe Middle...

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Ethan Niang plays on his "Recycled Sound" instrument, drums made out of plastic bottle tops, at New Canaan Public Schools Tech Night held on April 8, 2014, at New Canaan High School.

Photo: Jeanna Petersen Shepard

Ethan Niang plays on his "Recycled Sound" instrument, drums made...

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Peter Dantini (left) talks to Gene Goodman and Benjamin Levin (front right) about his "Building a Computer" station during New Canaan Public Schools Tech Night held on April 8, 2014, at New Canaan High School.

Photo: Jeanna Petersen Shepard

Peter Dantini (left) talks to Gene Goodman and Benjamin Levin...

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Benjamin Levin brought his own home made TV remote, in an Altoids tin, to the at New Canaan Public Schools Tech Night held on April 8, 2014, at New Canaan High School.

Photo: Jeanna Petersen Shepard

Benjamin Levin brought his own home made TV remote, in an Altoids...

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Benjamin Levin brought his own home made TV remote, in an Altoids tin, to the at New Canaan Public Schools Tech Night held on April 8, 2014, at New Canaan High School.

Photo: Jeanna Petersen Shepard

Benjamin Levin brought his own home made TV remote, in an Altoids...

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The Wagner Room was packed with math and science enthusiasts during the New Canaan Public Schools Tech Night held on April 8, 2014, at New Canaan High School.

Photo: Jeanna Petersen Shepard

The Wagner Room was packed with math and science enthusiasts during...

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Flight simulating "Edustations" were a hit at New Canaan Public Schools Tech Night held on April 8, 2014, at New Canaan High School.

Photo: Jeanna Petersen Shepard

Flight simulating "Edustations" were a hit at New Canaan Public...

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Girls Flight Club captains Hannah Swimm (right) and Katherine Morrow are glued to the "Edustations" during New Canaan Public Schools Tech Night held on April 8, 2014, at New Canaan High School.

Photo: Jeanna Petersen Shepard

Girls Flight Club captains Hannah Swimm (right) and Katherine...

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Jay Leboff, owner of the "Edustations" and Hotseatsim.com, brings his simulators to middle schools and high schools to encourage interest in math and science at early ages, community colleges, university aviation programs and military contractors. He is currently working on a girls program and was impressed by the Saxe Girls Flight Club during New Canaan Public Schools Tech Night held on April 8, 2014, at New Canaan High School.

Photo: Jeanna Petersen Shepard

Jay Leboff, owner of the "Edustations" and Hotseatsim.com, brings...

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Jay Leboff, owner of the "Edustations" and Hotseatsim.com, brings his simulators to middle schools and high schools to encourage interest in math and science at early ages, community colleges, university aviation programs and military contractors. He is currently working on a girls program and was impressed by the Saxe Girls Flight Club during New Canaan Public Schools Tech Night held on April 8, 2014, at New Canaan High School.

Photo: Jeanna Petersen Shepard

Jay Leboff, owner of the "Edustations" and Hotseatsim.com, brings...

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Girls Flight Club captains Hannah Swimm (left) and Katherine Morrow are glued to the "Edustations" during New Canaan Public Schools Tech Night held on April 8, 2014, at New Canaan High School.

New Canaan High School student Chip Mahoney encourages Saxe Middle School students during the evening, here with 8th-grader Bobby Carpenter, during New Canaan Public Schools Tech Night held on April 8, 2014, at New Canaan High School.

Photo: Jeanna Petersen Shepard

New Canaan High School student Chip Mahoney encourages Saxe Middle...

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Brother and sister Bobby and Isabelle Carpenter at their station, "The Arduino Project," at New Canaan Public Schools Tech Night held on April 8, 2014, at New Canaan High School.

Photo: Jeanna Petersen Shepard

Brother and sister Bobby and Isabelle Carpenter at their station,...

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One of the Tech Night coordinators, Ms. Vivian Birdsall, talks to one of her students during New Canaan Public Schools Tech Night held on April 8, 2014, at New Canaan High School.

Photo: Jeanna Petersen Shepard

One of the Tech Night coordinators, Ms. Vivian Birdsall, talks to...

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NCHS teacher Tim Haag talks to a full planetarium before the doors are shut and the lights go out, during New Canaan Public Schools Tech Night held on April 8, 2014, at New Canaan High School.

Photo: Jeanna Petersen Shepard

NCHS teacher Tim Haag talks to a full planetarium before the doors...

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NCHS teacher Tim Haag talks to a full planetarium before the doors are shut and the lights go out, during New Canaan Public Schools Tech Night held on April 8, 2014, at New Canaan High School.

Photo: Jeanna Petersen Shepard

NCHS teacher Tim Haag talks to a full planetarium before the doors...

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Oliva Park (in back) shows 5th-grader Olivia Morrison the basics at her Music Technology station during New Canaan Public Schools Tech Night held on April 8, 2014, at New Canaan High School.

At New Canaan High School Tuesday evening, folks were explaining how they created video games, websites, computers, 3D printers and animated movies, among other projects.

Those folks were not teachers or well-known technology experts. They were the technology leaders of tomorrow: New Canaan's own public school students.

Students from kindergarten to high school showcased their innovative projects during the eighth annual New Canaan Public Schools Tech Night.

This year, there were more elementary school children than ever before, according to Vivian Birdsall, a math instructional leader and the technology integrator for Saxe Middle School.

Some of those elementary school students, and even kindergartners, were showing the different iPad uses, such as for music recording and math exercises, and teaching about rainforest animals and how to use smart boards.

There were also ninth-graders showing how they created video games, a fourth-grader who built a stirring machine, a seventh-grader who built a 3D LED cube that runs programmed animations sequences, among other cutting-edge projects.

Fifth-grader Henry Benton, 11, was showcasing not one, but three projects he and his friends created on their own: a digital camera; a website; and a 3D printer.

"I love making stuff from scratch," Henry said.

The most fun one to work on, he said, was the 3D printer. In March, Henry taught 3D certification classes at New Canaan Library.

Henry's mother, Jayne Benton, said he's been waiting to be part of Tech Night for years. She said he works during recess, after school and on weekends. "He does this on his own," she said.

Henry got a desktop 3D printer for Christmas, Benton said, but she thinks the one he built from scratch is a much better learning tool.

"It's great for him. He has to really work at it in order to get it to work," she said. "It's much more valuable than having the Cadillac one at home."

Henry also created the "Crazy Fun Facts" website with all kinds of world curiosities.

Eighth-grader Lucas Quinn, 13, designed and built an electric go-kart. Birdsall said the project was time-consuming.

"He actually built this whole thing from scratch," Birdsall said. "He had to get insurance, he had to get approval, he had to do a lot to get to the point where he had permission and money to be able to do this ... It was a really big deal."

Lucas, who wants to be a mechanical engineer, said it was tough to find all the right pieces for the go-kart, but doing so actually helped him understand more about mechanics.

"The hardest part is to get things to match. If you don't have the right matching parts, it won't work," he said. "I actually learned about go-karts and cars themselves and how they work ... By looking at (all the pieces), I figured out how that would be implemented in a car."

Birdsall is leading the growth of the science, technology, engineering and math program, or STEM, in the district, said she hopes the program is built into the curriculum so students can work on such projects during school hours.

Robert Miller, director of technology for New Canaan Public Schools, said this year's event shows the importance of STEM for students in New Canaan. "You can see the integration that technology has with student learning as we develop (the STEM) program," he said.

One of the goals of the event, Miller said, is to show how technology enhances and encourages learning.

To participate in Tech Night, students must submit an application for review by a committee composed of faculty and staff. Student submit their project idea and describe its use of technology. Once accepted, teachers help students create their presentation as they teach others at Tech Night.